Not This Time, Buster!
by LVfangirl
Summary: Set before We're off to See the Wizard and A Lovely Little Affair. Amanda-ramble after the elevator/hallway scene in Over the Limit.


Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is owned by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions

Note: Set before We're off to See the Wizard and A Lovely Little Affair. Amanda-ramble after the elevator/hallway scene in Over the Limit.

* * *

Furious, she was absolutely furious.

Furious with Lee. Furious with herself.

How many times had she reminded herself in the past to not get attached; to not assume there was anything more than a working relationship with Lee and to not. Get. Personal.

But, gosh darn it all! He sure made it hard sometimes. The strange conversation they'd had just yesterday replayed in Amanda's mind as the elevator made its way down to the parking garage. Lee had even admitted that he thought she'd looked…looked _gorgeous _was the word he'd used to describe her….and he wanted to buy a replica of _her_ dress for his "friend"! Friend! _Friend? _ Some friend!

To find that woman waiting in his apartment had been a real blow after the past couple days they'd had.

Amanda was just so angry with herself and how she was reacting. The two of them had had a great day, following leads and working off of each other so well with their covers…it had really been fun. These were the days that made working for the agency most enjoyable.

_Working, Amanda! Working is the key word!_ She sighed as the elevator binged open and she headed toward her car. Often, their work assignments gave the illusion that they were closer than they really actually were. Going under cover as married couples, lovers…co-workers…sometimes it was just all too much that it seemed to blur into reality because they worked so well together.

But, honestly, sometimes Lee made it hard for her to remember what was reality versus what was just a cover. It was as if he just expected her to just stay the same, sitting in the wings waiting for his call. To always be available while he went on with his own yens while she just sat doe-eyed waiting for the phone to ring.

And just what kind of phone call was she to wait for? Oh, a call from him anytime he needed _window dressing_ for some event or another…an emergency _date_ on a Friday night when it would be _depressing_ if he were to go out somewhere alone. Because she was just the boring ol' housewife, sitting at home with a feather duster in her hand hoping against hope she'd get a last ditch invitation to the ball..

And God forbid if someone ever tried to _talk _to her at one of those functions. No, oh, no, she was supposed to sit like a wallflower while Lee wandered off, got his information and then called her a cab fifteen minutes after the party started. But goodness, say she even had a tiny bit of enjoyment, Lee would swoop in, looking down his nose at her, making snide comments about how she always would fall for men's lines and giving her the riot act.

_No, Lee..I don't __**fall**__ for their lines, it just happens to be nice to be looked at and talked to sometimes. Dressed to the nines and having your fake date ditch you do nothing for the ego. _Those men weren't going home with her; it was all in the fun of the evening and part of the party-vibe. A harmless dance once in a while with someone who asked was just that. Harmless. Besides, it wasn't as if she was taken. She was free to wander around and strike up conversations with whomever she darn-well pleased. She wasn't an agent. She wasn't obligated to be anything more than a pretty bauble on Lee Stetson's tux-clad arm until he dashed off. Nights like that were _need to know, and she was never 'in-the-know' when Lee had any say about it!_

Granted, these past few months of working for the agency had been feeling less and less that way but still, for Lee, she was always window dressing…except that night at the embassy. She smiled at the memory of the way Lee hadn't left her side the entire night, hadn't had a mission besides gathering intel and therefore there hadn't been any wandering on either of their parts because of a case.

_Case in point!_ Her ire was once again beginning to simmer. That night at the embassy was a obviously one-off, because tonight Lee was proving once again that he only considered Amanda as window dressing. Bringing in Francine into _Amanda's case _proved once again how Lee actually felt about her involvement. Why couldn't she finish what she'd started tonight? But no, oh no, the decision was made for her, without consideration that she was more than ready and willing to see this to a close. She was the one that had been present at the explosion and witnessed the whole thing. She'd been there when Lee had been hit full-blast in the face with the spray of the fire-extinguisher and gotten the information of the owner of that car. She'd thrown herself head-first into this case only to be pulled, kicking and screaming no less, from it like a wayward child. Lee just took it away from her, all because his plans changed and he wanted to schmooze that Leslie's clothes right off of her.

That had been clear as day, Amanda fumed.. Right now, the two of them could be doing some necessary surveillance, but no, oh no, Lee had a _date_ now (no _window dressing_ tonight!); a 'friend' that he'd gone shopping for and bought a dress that Amanda was sure would look_.just .gorgeous…_on Leslie – she made a face.

"_I'm sure it will just look great on her!" _Amanda jerked her keys out of her pocket, flicking roughly through the keys on the keyring to her car's door key and ramming it into the keyhole. "Too busy to work tonight, buster, you really think the world will just stop because you want to…to…..to…" she couldn't even finish her sentence out loud. She sat down in the driver's seat and revved the engine, pulling the car into gear and heading out of the garage. _Get laid!_She conceded the word in her mind but bit her lip and cringed. _Not something I want to think about. Get yourself together, Amanda!_

But her mind wouldn't stop turning it over. First her _mother, _of all people, and then _Lee._ Throwing their sex lives into her face, making her feel just…ugh! Lingerie, sexy dresses…and nothing but sweaters and khakis for Amanda. No one to dress up for, no one to look at her like Lee was so obviously looking at Leslie _right this moment! _When he'd been describing how a dress like that would look on his friend…Amanda glowered at the oncoming traffic.

Not that she'd ever thought of Lee as a monk or anything. Heck, if she really let herself think about it, it was more likely he was a..a..a gigolo than monk, really, with all the girls he went through. It's just that Amanda rarely ever saw him in action, and he never brought it up while they were working together. There'd always been an unspoken understanding between them that she didn't want to know about his exploits; it really was none of her business and she didn't really need any more validation that women fell at his feet.

But yesterday, Lee just went above her limit with his buddy-buddy ways with her. Why would she care about his friend and what he _bought _for her? _Really, Lee, you are so thick-skulled sometimes! _Coming in late with mis-matched socks (_women's socks, to boot!)_ yesterday morning was quite –out of character, to say the least. He'd been so grumpy about the spring-cleaning assignment Billy had thrown at them; his "ínsomnia" must have brought that on.

"Ha!" Amanda signaled to turn left, impatiently tapping on her horn at the car in front of her to get a move on. "Insomnia, my foot! Too busy finding his own clothes in the dark and dragging his butt into work, of course he's tired! Ha!" She honked her horn again just as the car ahead of her finally turned. She gassed it and made the corner quickly, heading north toward the direction the two of them had just come.

"'_Go home, Amanda'_," she mocked now, "_'I don't want to argue about this, Amanda King!' _Who does he think he is, anyway, my father? I can do whatever I want, Buster! This is a free country! Not this time!"


End file.
